2026 · Photo: Boaz Liebes
Cyerce nigra
Tiger butterfly sea slug
Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea
- Size
- 15–30 mm · max 35 mm
- Native range
- Western and central Pacific: Palau, the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
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Description
A striking sacoglossan described by Bergh (1871) from Palau, distinguished from the better-known Cyerce nigricans by consistent colour differences. Like other Cyerce, it can shed its leaf-like cerata when disturbed.
Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/cyerce-nigra-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/
Identification
Black body with flattened, leaf-like cerata in about three rows on each side. Cerata black above with a yellow border and yellow spots, and pale yellow below with many black transverse stripes, giving a striped look. Rhinophores edged rusty-yellow.
Similar species
Cyerce nigricans has black cerata with coloured borders and spots but without the black-and-yellow striped undersides.
Habitat & diet
Habitat
Shallow reefs, sandy bottoms and algal fields.
Food
Reported to feed on the green alga Udotea.